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The Edmonton Oilers made their best pitch for Justin Schultz, now it’s up to the young defenceman to decide if he wants to gamble on the club’s future.

A team of lobbyists headed by Kevin Lowe, Craig MacTavish and Taylor Hall, met with the University of Wisconsin free agent Thursday in Toronto, trying to sell him on Edmonton and the Oilers.

Statistically there isn’t much to sell; the Oilers have been one of the worst teams in the NHL for three years. But they’re hoping a chance to play with the fruits of that failure — Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Nail Yakupov and Jordan Eberle — and possibly help turn things around will be enough to sway the 21-year-old.

Schultz is meeting with several teams and has narrowed his short list to Vancouver, Toronto, the New York Rangers, Ottawa and Edmonton. His parents are from B.C. and he has former Wisconsin teammates on the Rangers and Leafs.

Lowe refused comment on the meeting Thursday, but the club released a statement attributed to the president of hockey operations: “Hopefully (Schultz) feels he wants to join something that could soon be very special in the years to come.”

Schultz spent 2011-12 with the University of Wisconsin, scoring 16 goals and 44 points in 37 games. He was originally drafted by the Anaheim Ducks in the second round, 43rd overall in 2008, but refused to sign a contract with the Ducks and became a UFA last Sunday.